Talansky, who won the Critérium du Dauphiné in June, crashed twice in the Tour and suffered from acute sacroiliitis – an inflammation of the sacroiliac joint, which connects the iliac bone, in the pelvis, to the spine. In addition, he had been suffering with an upper respiratory infection.

"Andrew unfortunately had to leave the Tour, which was a huge shame for him and the team because he was in great shape and we were all focused to help him achieve his goals," Jonathan Vaughters told Cyclingnews.

Talansky's time off the bike means that he will not line up at the Vuelta as Garmin's main GC threat. Ryder Hesjedal and Dan Martin are the team's provisional leaders and according to Vaughters, Talansky pushed for a position on the team in order to pay back his teammates for the support they had provided in the past.

"Andrew is very keen on riding the Vuelta. It's a race he's done well at in the past but he was really keen on riding as a way of paying back Ryder for the work he did for him in the Dauphiné, and Dan for all the work he did at the Tour de France last year."